The clinical management of decubitus, ischial and sacral ulcers represents one of the most difficult challenges to medical professional today. A stage-4 wound, for example, extends fully through soft tissue and often involves exposed bone and undermined surrounding tissue with significant sinus tracts that radiate out from the wound's epicenter. Such wounds usually have significant drainage, usually require daily dressing changes and are some of the most difficult and costly wounds to manage as patients are often bed ridden and very difficult to move.
The frequency of standard dressing changes for such wounds may range from a few times per day to several times per week, depending on wound drainage rate, healing rate, any infections, etc. In many cases, frequent (e.g., weekly) surgical debridement may be required to remove necrotic tissue and induce an inflammatory response necessary for new tissue granulation.
The frequency of dressing changes required during wound treatment has clear economic impacts. For example, under Medicare's new Prospective Payment System, visiting nurse services are paid a flat rate per month for patient home care regardless of the number of home visits required for dressing changes or other care. Accordingly, any new dressing system that can improve clinical efficacy and reduce the number of dressing changes required during wound treatment may not only improve patient care, but may potentially save millions of dollars annually.
To reduce the need for frequent dressing changes during treatment of draining wounds, drainage devices have been developed that utilize periodic suction and/or that generate a continuous negative pressure environment in a wound bed to express wound exudates (e.g., into a container), and thereby reduce dressing changes. While active exudate suctioning and a 100 to 150 mmHg negative pressure environment have been shown to improve wound closure as compared to atmospheric pressure wound management, such systems may infect a wound with airborne pathogens drawn into the wound via vacuum leaks in the wound dressing. Accordingly, an improved wound management system for treating wounds would be desirable.